


White Is in the Winter Night

by GummySungShine



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Corqi, Late xmas themed fic, M/M, everyone lives au, heartwarming romance, more Corqi content from me, what a surprise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-04
Packaged: 2019-10-03 22:44:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17292821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GummySungShine/pseuds/GummySungShine
Summary: Routinely invited to the Citadel for Yuletide celebrations, something seemingly amiss with the Marshal leaves Loqi reevaluating his relationship with the man. Afraid of the worst, Loqi begins to resign himself to the fact that things may be reaching an end with Cor. Little does the Niff know, there is more to it than meets the eye.(Vague summary is vague, but I tried not to spoil things)





	White Is in the Winter Night

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is at last, that xmas themed Corqi fic I promised on tumblr.   
> It’s late, but consider it as a new year’s gift for all Corqi shippers :)  
> Just a nice Everyone Lives AU for the holiday season ^_^
> 
> If you like my work, I post more of it over on tumblr (gummysungshine).
> 
> As always, this fic is unbeta'd, so there might be mistakes.

~~~

 

Being cordially invited to the Citadel for annual Yuletide celebrations should have been a time to enjoy... Yet an ever growing, looming, dark cloud hung over a certain Niff’s head all the while.   
  
Spending the holidays with those he’d come to call his friends had been a dead cert for the past 2 years, he couldn’t really imagine not spending time at the Citadel with his other half, invited by the Lucian King himself for the 3rd year running. Loqi considered it to be just another usual holiday celebration, nothing out of the ordinary. And for the most part, things were going swimmingly for all those involved.

But it was his other half that was the cause for the dark cloud putting a damper on things.

The Marshal himself was usually rather involved with his lover at that time of year, taking joy in the time spent together, doing seemingly meaningless things like gift shopping or baking treats along with Ignis and Lunafreya— the simple things that brought the festive spirit to the holiday. Yet the atmosphere had been different this time around, and it didn’t take Loqi long to realise how  _ off _ Cor had been acting, nor did it slip by others how much the Marshal’s behaviour had affected Loqi.

“Is something the matter, Loqi?” Came Ignis’ voice, watching the blond Niff stare at the countertop mid-way through mixing another batch of cookie dough.

“Hm?” He whipped his head round to the Royal Advisor.

“You seem preoccupied. Usually you’re quite invested in this.”

Glancing away with a sigh, he turned to both Ignis and Lunafreya and apologised.

“I’m sorry. I just... Never mind.” Loqi shook his head, getting equally concerned looks from the pair.

“You can talk to us about anything, you know that, right?” The Oracle smiled, hoping to encourage the young Commander to open up.

“I’m sure you have more important things to worry about than my problems.”

As thankful for their concern as Loqi was, burdening them both with his domestic issues wasn’t on his to-do list.

“Of course not.” Luna put down her wooden spoon, taking the Niff by the hand. “Friends are always there to listen. I’m sure it will help to talk about it.”

Looking between the two of them, knowing they were both right, Loqi reluctantly came clean about the problem that’d been plaguing him.

“It’s Cor.” He sighed again. “I think he might break up with me.”

Hearing such a thing came as an utter shock to both Ignis and Lunafreya. Neither of them would’ve even had the thought cross their minds had Loqi not have mentioned it.

“Why on Eos would you ever think that?” Luna dropped the Niff’s hand in surprise.

“Surely you’ve noticed?” Loqi questioned, getting joint looks of confusion in response. “He’s been...distant lately. We haven’t been spending as much time together as we usually do at this time of year. Not once has he been out shopping with me, and we always do that together— he’s terrible with gifts so he always takes me along to help him. He’s not been interested in doing much with me...”

“I suppose that  _ is _ out of the ordinary.” Ignis agreed.

The Royal Advisor could definitely recall the Marshal being far more present around Loqi during the past couple of years’ celebrations, yet he appeared increasingly absent now that the Niff had mentioned it.

“And there’s more, too.” Loqi confessed. “Last night I heard him on talking to someone on the phone. He snuck out of bed and called someone. Don’t know who it was, but he was clearly trying to hide something from me— he even said he’d meet up with them!”

“You think he’s being unfaithful?” Ignis asked. “I’ve known Cor long enough to see that loyalty means a lot to him. I can’t imagine he would be seeing someone behind your back.”

“What other explanation is there?”

Having had time to mull it over in his own mind, Loqi knew there weren’t many other explanations to Cor’s behaviour. There was no good reason to go sneaking behind his back. If his reasons just so happened to be innocent, then surely it would be fine to just tell him about it, Loqi thought.

“Would you like me to speak with him?” Luna suggested, her selfless offer quickly declined.

“No, no. I couldn’t ask you to get involved.” He shook his head.

There was no way he would ever dream of shifting his own personal problems onto royalty, especially not the Oracle of all people. It was hard enough having to confess his problem to Luna in the first place, let alone actively allowing her to try and fix it. The only person whom he’d allow to confront the issue, was himself. If he could work up the nerve to bring it up with Cor, that is.

“As grateful as I am for your offer,” He thanked her graciously. “I’ll...I’ll have to deal with this myself.”

 

—-

 

“Cheating on Loqi? That doesn’t sound like Cor at all.” 

Having heard, directly from Luna, about Loqi’s plight, not one word of it made sense to the Lucian Prince. 

“He’s completely smitten with him. I mean, he doesn’t always show much emotion, but... I’ve known him long enough to see  _ that _ .”

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think.” Luna challenged, taking Noctis’ silence as a sign of agreement. 

It didn’t take a genius to understand that it was impossible to truly know someone, not utterly and completely, no matter how well one thought they did. The idea that someone as loyal as the Marshal could be unfaithful didn’t shock her. Not in the slightest. Especially considering she knew very little of the man’s private life. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t sympathise with Loqi’s problem concerning his lover.

“Loqi seems awfully down about the whole thing.” She thought back on the Niff, so unlike his usual self.

Snapping his fingers as an idea springing to mind, Noctis turned to the Oracle.

“Hey, I got it. We’ll talk to my dad, I’ve gotta see him anyway.” He offered up his thought. “He probably knows Cor the best.”

“Um... _'We'_ ?” The blonde questioned, eyebrows raised.

“You and me.” The Prince motioned. “You’re here already, so you might as well come with. Besides, you know more about all this than I do.”

“He didn’t want me to get involved.” Luna rebutted.

“Then why did you tell  _ me _ then?” Noctis argued back, a slight smugness creeping onto his face, knowing he’d caught her out. “I think you  _ want _ to help. Nothing wrong with admitting that.”

Despite Loqi’s refusal for help, Luna still wanted to do something for him, somehow. It pained her to see the Niff so clearly upset, no matter how much he tried to hide it.   
About to attempt to talk Noctis out of the whole thing, Luna stopped in her tracks along with the Lucian Prince, watching the figure of the Marshal appear from Regis’ private chambers, leaving the room and making his way further down the hall.

“Speak of the devil.” She murmured. 

“Ok, I’m taking that as a sign we really should talk to my dad about it.”

Taking her by the hand, with little resistance from the Oracle, Noctis led her to his father’s room, knocking lightly as the pair entered.

“Dad?” Noctis called.

“Ah. Noctis— oh, and Lunafreya.” Regis smiled, standing from his writing desk, surprised to see the Oracle with his son. “What brings the two of you to see me?”

“Well, a couple’a things.” The Prince answered, not wishing to waste too much of his father’s time - he was a busy man after all. “Ignis wanted your permission to help out with the cooking tomorrow. I told him he didn’t even need to ask, but...you know what he’s like.”

With a chuckle, Regis understood what his son meant. 

“Of course he can. It’d be a tragedy to keep him away.”

“I’ll let Specs know.” Noct nodded, expression quickly turning sheepish as he brought up the next topic of interest. “I, uh, we saw Cor just leave.”

“Hm. Just filling me in on some arrangements.” The King explained.

“Did he...” Noctis looked to Luna momentarily. “Do you think he’s been acting, uh...differently?” He trod lightly around the subject, hoping his father would share the same concerns.

“Differently?” Regis questioned. “How so?”

“Uhh...” Noctis stalled, looking to the Oracle for help, and getting none. “Maybe it’s better if you explain.” 

Gently pushing Luna forward, somewhat using her to hide behind, Noctis left it up to the Oracle.  
Hardly believing Noctis’ behaviour, Luna sighed.

“Your Majesty,” She addressed politely. “I know you shouldn’t involve yourself too much in the private affairs of others. But, I feel you might be the only one who can clear up something involving the Marshal.”

“Cor? What about him?”

“You see...” She started off, wording her approach carefully. “Loqi spoke of a small issue, concerning Cor. Ignis and I noticed Loqi hadn’t been quite himself lately, so we tried our best to get to the bottom of the problem; but it seems it’s something of a delicate one.”

Listening intently to the Oracle’s words, Regis remained silent, waiting for the young woman to clarify the exact concern she had regarding the Marshal.

“Loqi said Cor had been acting differently, out of the norm. Some evidence had led him to believe that the Marshal might be looking to part ways, maybe even being unfaithful.”

Thoroughly impressed with how gracefully Luna had handled everything, Noctis knew it’d been a good decision to bring her along for the talk. She had a way with words that he himself couldn’t quite grasp.

Sitting back down in his chair with a sigh, Regis shook his head, leaving the pair more than confused as they watched on.

“He’s a stupid man.” The King breathed out.

“What do you mean?” Noctis stepped forward.

Running a hand down his face, Regis’ entire posture slumped, shaking his head once again as he leant back in his seat.

“I told him to just act natural. Don’t do anything differently, or Loqi would suspect.”

“Wait, what? You—”

Having a tremendously hard time processing his father words, a part of Noctis’ brain automatically jumped to the worst conclusion.

“Is he cheating? Did you know about it?” Noctis asked in disbelief, the Oracle next to him stunned silent.

“Cheating?” Regis turned to his son. “ _ The Six above _ , no. Of course not.”

“Your Majesty,” Luna butted in, easing the tension. “If he isn’t cheating, then what is it? It’s clear you know something.”

That he did. That he did, indeed.   
Leaning forward in his seat, face taut with utmost seriousness, Regis eyed to pair before him. He hesitated a moment, considering the repercussions of letting them in on what he knew. But there wasn’t much he could do to explain Cor’s behaviour apart from telling them the truth.

“Promise me,” He kept his voice low. “That what is said here, does not leave this room.”

Nodding slowly, the both the Prince and Oracle keenly awaited the man’s explanation, hanging on each passing second while the King spilled the truth.

 

\---

  
  


Feeding nigh-on 20 people, all thanks to His Majesty’s generosity, had certainly been a feat to behold. Though the work had been hard, it had been worth it, particularly in Ignis’ eyes, the Advisor- _ cum _ -cook taking great pride in the dishes he helped to prepare.

Still not having received any sort of gift from the Marshal, Loqi was more than certain that Cor was intending to break up with him. The smiling faces of everyone else, both giving and receiving gifts from their loved ones, only served to rub salt in wound for the Niff. Holding off on giving the Marshal his own present - a beautiful watch, handcrafted by Niflheim’s leading luxury brand - he felt almost stupid for putting so much effort into choosing something for his lover.

“Loqi?” 

Turning to the source of the voice, tearing himself away from his place staring out of the window, the Niff was almost surprised to see Cor.

“You fancy a walk? Go out and enjoy the snow?” The Marshal offered.

“Oh.” Taken aback by the suggestion, Loqi braved a small smile as he answered. “Uh...yeah. I guess a walk would be nice.”

Wrapping himself up in his coat, scarf, and gloves, ready to keep the Lucian winter chill out, he met Cor by the door. Taking ahold of the Marshal’s hand, almost hesitant to do so, Loqi let them man lead him out and down the steps of the Citadel entrance.

The streets of Insomnia were certainly prettier than those of Gralea, in Loqi’s opinion, especially all lit up for the holidays like they were. And it seemed other citizens of the city thought the same, as groups took to the snowy streets to admire them.    
The idea that it might be one of the last times he’d such wondrous sights left Loqi further dispirited. Cor had been the main reason he was usually invited to the Citadel for such occasions, and without him he knew those privileges would likely end. While he loved his birthplace of Niflheim, his time spent there had become increasingly minimal, opting to stay with Cor in Insomnia for the most part. He missed his family, of course, but both his friends and his lover kept him more than occupied when away from home.

“You warm enough?” Came Cor’s question, gently squeezing the Niff’s hand in his own.

“Hm.” Loqi nodded, pulling up his scarf over his chin.

It was chilly, but not unbearable. Not like the outskirts of Gralea anyway. Though the cold posed its problems, the snow it brought was more than welcome. 

Making their way to the inner-city park, the very place they’d strolled after their first ‘official’ date and many after, the blanket of snow covered the trees and ground so charmingly, lights from all around bouncing off it’s seemingly glowing surface. Certainly a fitting sight for the time of year.

“You’re pretty quiet today.” The Marshal tore Loqi’s attention away from the view.

“Huh? Oh.” The blond’s gaze fell to the ground, watching the fresh flakes of land beneath his feet. “Sorry. Just...been thinking.”

“Seems it’s the season for thinking, huh?” Cor replied, leading the Niff over to the snow-capped fountain in the centre. “Here, sit with me.”

Brushing off the snow from around the fountain’s edge, the pair took a seat, a growing sense of dread nestling itself in Loqi’s chest.

“Speaking of thinking...” Cor continued quietly. “I’ve been doing a lot myself. “These past few years have really taught me something. I know I had my reservations about...us, about dating you at the start.”

4 years prior, the pair of them officially started their relationship, though not without a lot of persuasion on Loqi’s behalf. Even in his teens he’d admired the Lucian Marshal to an unbelievable degree, to which Cor had been rather aware of - all thanks to the very nature of gossip.    
At age 18 Loqi had been bold enough to approach the man, hoping to solicit a date. Refusing at the time, on the grounds of age, it took a year for Cor to warm to the idea of being with the Niff. Thanks partly due to Noctis and company telling him he was being utterly ridiculous about the entire thing.    
In hindsight, Cor could agree with them. He knew now he was being stupid with his superficial issues. Loqi had been an adult after all, perfectly capable of knowing what he wanted. In all honesty, it left the Marshal completely flattered that Loqi wanted someone like him. Not that he would necessarily tell that to anyone.   


“But being with you has been a real eye-opener for me.” Cor admitted, placing his hand over Loqi’s own between them. “Things I thought I didn’t want, or thought I wasn’t cut out for, have changed. The same with things I felt comfortable with. Dating you has been one of the biggest things.”

Listening to the Marshal’s words only caused the Niff’s gloom to spiral. He could see where the man was going with his speech. Though he’d resigned himself to his fate, it didn’t make it any easier to go through.

“People say that sometimes change is for the better,” Cor went on. “And I think I can agree with them this time.”

Lifting a hand to Loqi’s chin, he turned the blond’s head to face him, holding his gaze steady.

“I don’t want you to think of me as your boyfriend, or your lover, anymore.” He lowered his voice, keeping his words solely for the two of them. “I want to be your husband.”

Pulling out a small, black, velvet box from his own coat pocket, Cor presented Loqi with a ring.

“Loqi Tummelt. Will you marry me?”  
  
Staring down at it, and back up to Cor’s face, the blond’s mouth hung open in pure shock. Calling his proposal unexpected was the understatement of the century. Letting the moment settle in, processing his words, tears sprang forth in both relief and joy.

“Yes— yes.” Loqi nodded, tears blurring his vision as he pulled off his gloves.

Slipping the ring onto the Niff’s finger, Cor knew he’d made the right decision; the yellow gold band with a silver stripe running around its circumference looked beautiful upon his fiancé’s hand.

Throwing his arms around his husband-to-be’s torso, Loqi cried into Cor’s chest, letting the man pull him close.

“I’m glad you said yes.” Cor smiled, gently patting down the Niff’s hair as he cried. “But there’s a part 2 to your gift.”

“Huh?” Loqi pulled back, rubbing at his eyes. “P-part 2?”

“Hm. I got you away while Regis and Gladio sorted it out.”

“Did...did they know about this?” He motioned to the ring on his hand.

“Yeah. I talked to them about it, I hope you don’t mind.” Letting them in on his plans had been a risky move, yet a very much needed one. “But Gladio let me know of a jeweler— Dino, that could offer me some advice on a ring.”

“Does anyone else know?” Loqi asked, sniffling all the while.

“Not that I know of. I did tell them all to keep it to themselves.” Cor shook his head, wondering if the three actually did managed to keep tight lipped about the whole thing. “Come on, let’s head back. You have something at the Citadel waiting for you.”

Letting Cor pull him up, still wiping away his tears, Loqi didn’t think he deserved much more than what he’d already been given. Deciding to let the man have his way, half stuck in a state of shock still, the Niff couldn’t even begin to think what else Cor could have in store for him.

 

\---

 

Upon their arrival back at the Citadel, it became quickly apparent that both the King and Gladio weren’t the only ones that knew of Cor’s planned proposal. Before either of them had said a word they’d been met with premature congratulations and fake surprise, word of their engagement having already spread among every guest it seemed. But neither Cor nor Loqi could be mad, not when they had so much to celebrate.

Managing, with some difficulty, to break away from the barrage of questions and well wishes, the pair took off to their shared room within the Citadel - graciously offered to them by the King himself for the holiday celebrations.

Having tried to guess his gift all the way from the park back to their room, Loqi hadn’t managed to get Cor to spill the surprise. The Marshal was a hard nut to crack.

“Ok, I want you to close your eyes.” Cor instructed, opening the door ajar. “No peeking.” 

Wanting to protest, Loqi rolled his eyes and did as he was told. Letting Cor lead him in by the hand, the Niff resisted the urge to crack open his lids - just a smidge - to grab a glance at what his fiancé was keeping hidden.

“Alright,” Cor moved behind the blond. “Open your eyes.”

Doing as asked, Loqi looked around, his gaze falling to a strange blanket-covered boxy shape upon the floor.

“What’s this?” He asked, puzzled.

“Take it off and you’ll see.” Was all the Marshal said, a smile pulling at his lips.

Bending down to pull the woollen blanket away, Loqi found himself met with something completely unexpected. A wire grated cage housed a small, orange tabby cat, one that was all too familiar to the blond.

“Is...is that Bitsy?” He asked, in a state of semi-awe and confusion.

He recognised the short legs, white chest and paws of the munchkin cat right away. It was unmistakably the cat he thought it was.

“It’s Bitsy.” Cor confirmed.

“What’s she do— How did you get her here?” Loqi kneeled down besides the cage, cooing at the animal as she meowed up at him.

“Well...I went and adopted her for you.” He stated simply. “I know you love her, and she was ready to go to a new home, so I thought you’d want her.”

“You... You adopted her? For me?”

Staring at his fiancé, Loqi got a nod in reply, doing his best not to cry a second time in span of one evening. Not in a million years did he think Cor would go to such lengths for a gift. He was more than aware that Cor knew of his soft spot for a certain orange tabby cat, weekly trips to Insomnia’s popular cat café was the biggest giveaway. Having taken a huge liking to the animal in particular, Loqi had gone as far as giving her a name, referencing her teeny size, more than once calling her  _ ‘Itsy-Bitsy’ _ .   
Missing his own pets back in Niflheim, getting to surround himself with other felines had helped to take the edge off, even if he couldn’t take them home. At no point did he think it would be a wise idea to ask Cor to adopt one, unsure of how the man actually felt about keeping pets himself. Yet it seemed now that he was perfectly alright with the idea.

“You gonna let her out?” Cor chuckled, watching the blond deal with his swell of happiness. “I’m sure she wants your attention.”

Sliding the bolt from the front of the cage, Loqi gently scooped her out and held her to his chest, cooing away nothing in particular as the animal purred.

“I can’t believe you did this.” He stood, facing the man, his smile telling of his thanks. “I get a husband  _ and _ a cat. What more do I need?”

Pulling Cor down by the shoulder, mindful of the feline in his arms, Loqi placed a kiss to Cor’s lips, letting the man reel him in close.    
Though the way things had panned out had been totally unexpected - in the best way possible - Loqi couldn’t count himself any more luckier to be marrying the man he was, blissfully contemplating what the future would hold for them.


End file.
